Cat dumped with 'not wanted' note beside A27

The RSPCA is appealing for information after a cat was found dumped in a box by the side of the road with a note which read ‘not wanted.’

The female tabby and white cat was found in Brighton on Wednesday (August 8), in a cardboard box near the busy A27 close to the Falmer slip road and the bus stop.

The member of the public who found her contacted the RSPCA and Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) Marie Stevens came to collect the cat.

She said: “The cat didn’t have any obvious injuries and was very friendly. She seemed quite hungry and was also producing milk so I think she may have had kittens fairly recently, despite there being no sign of the kittens themselves.

“She was found near a busy main road in a bustling part of town, just after Pride weekend, and was dumped with the rubbish. There is never an excuse to abandon an animal like this. There are options available if you feel you can not cope but dumping an animal like this is callous and cruel and although this moggy was luckily found, it could easily have been a very different story.”

The one to two-year-old tabby, which has been named Heather, is being cared for at RSPCA Brighton Animal Centre in Patcham and will soon be ready to be rehomed.

The RSPCA is appealing for anyone who may have any information on how the cat came to be abandoned, or any information on where the kittens might be, to contact its appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

The charity said at this time of year the RSPCA sees lots of abandoned cats and kittens coming into its centres; May to September is known as kitten season when most of the litters are born.

The RSPCA is urging owners to neuter their cats from four months old to avoid these unplanned and often unwanted litters.